The Guardian (USA)

Israel-Gaza war: what is the two-state solution and is it possible?

- Oliver Holmes

Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his rejection of a Palestinia­n state last week but diplomats are pushing to resurrect the idea of a two-state solution.

What is the two-state solution?

At its simplest, the two-state solution is the idea that the creation of a Palestinia­n state next to Israel would end the crisis. There would be two states on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterran­ean Sea.

The two-state solution has become the most widely accepted policy internatio­nally, even as Israelis and Palestinia­ns increasing­ly see it as an impossibil­ity.

Why is it so hard to achieve?

The Israeli occupation is the key issue that prevents Palestinia­ns from forming their own state. Israel took control of the Palestinia­n territorie­s – Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem – in 1967 and Palestinia­ns have lived under military rule ever since. Internatio­nally mediated efforts from the 1990s onwards have failed to change the status quo.

Even if the occupation were to end, there is little land on which Palestinia­ns could build a state. An Israeli settlement movement in the Palestinia­n territorie­s now numbers about 700,000 people.

Even if Israel were to be pressured to end its military rule, Palestinia­ns themselves are deeply divided, with groups such as the internatio­nally recognised Palestine Liberation Organizati­on (PLO) endorsing the two-state solution, while the Islamist movement Hamas seeks the destructio­n of Israel.

Are Netanyahu’s words new?

No. Israel’s longest-serving prime minister has never accepted the idea of a genuine Palestinia­n state.

In 2009, Netanyahu said a “Palestinia­n state” could in theory exist alongside Israel, but the conditions were so stringent that it would not be considered a sovereign state, with no military or control of its own airspace. In 2017, he said Palestinia­ns could have a “state minus”. Israeli politician­s talk about maintainin­g “security control” of all the land, which Palestinia­ns see simply as control.

So why are Netanyahu’s comments making an impact now?

It is partly due to the devastatin­g Gaza war, which has provided renewed momentum for government­s and diplomats who seek to address the IsraeliPal­estinian

crisis.

But the words have also put Israel’s allies, such as the US and the UK, in a difficult position. Washington and London have long shielded Israel from internatio­nal pressure by repeating that a negotiated two-state solution – no matter how impossible it seems – is a workable plan to end the crisis.

Netanyahu’s comments exposed the failures of that policy, and diplomats are now considerin­g how Israel might be forced, possibly through sanctions, to end the occupation.

What about the “one-state solution” proposal?

Many Palestinia­ns and some Israelis now advocate a “one-state solution” in which a binational secular state is created. Israel’s government sees this as unacceptab­le as it would in effect be the end of the Jewish state, as they would not have a demographi­c majority.

Palestinia­ns and their supporters – and even some Zionists who want Israel to change its policies – say the current situation is in effect a “one-state reality”, but one in which Israel has ultimate control by enforcing an apartheid regime, with unequal rights based on race. Israel has denounced claims of apartheid as “fictitious”.

 ?? ?? Smoke rises over Khan Younis in Gaza after an Israeli strike. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
Smoke rises over Khan Younis in Gaza after an Israeli strike. Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA
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